Refrigerator



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.-

M. S. MILLARD.

REFRIGERATOR. No. 404,854. Patented June 11, 1889..

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. S. MILLARD. REFRIGERATOR. No. 404,854. Patented June 11 1889.

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.UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

MARTIN S. MILLARD, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

REFRIGERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 404,854, dated June 11, 1889.

Application filed August 18, 1888.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN S. MILLARD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of. Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Refrigerators; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Myinvention relates to an improvement in refrigerators.

The object is to provide for the retention of the condensed vapor and drip from the ice and its removal without its entering the coldair chamber.

A further object is to provide for regulating the drafts of air within the cooler and for cleansing the pans.

With these ends in View my invent-ion con sists in certain features of construction and combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter described, and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in front elevation, the main door being open, showing the inside base-door closed. Fig. 2 is a view in rear elevation, the back casing being removed to show the interior of the refrigerator. Fig. 3 is a view in vertical transverse section through line a: o: of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a view in detail of one side of the pan-rack.

The casing of the refrigerator consists of a front, back, and two ends separable from each other and from the bottom and top. The bottom A and top A are each provided with a groove a, preferably formed by a marginal bead a and the outer edge a -of the thick wall of the refrigerator. The grooves a are intended to receive the top and bottom edges of the side and end sections of the casing, and also to receive the upper and lower ends of V-shaped corner-moldings a which serve to bind the sides and ends of the refrigerator firmly together.

The walls of the refrigerator are formed of a frame-work 13, two inches thick (more or less) and having on both inside and outside of it a layer of sheathing-paper b, or paper prepared in any well known and suitable manner for the purpose, forming between the Serial No. 283,110. (No model.)

walls of paper and within the frame B a dead-' air chamber. Inside the paper layer 1) is a wood sheathing I), and outside the outer paper layer are two thicknesses of sheathing b, separated from each other by a third paper layer Z). The wall thus formed is an effective non-conductor; but for small sizes and where it is desirable to make the walls quite thin packing may be inserted in the dead-air chamher. The ice-chamber is provided, as is usual, in the upper portion of the refrigerator, and is surrounded partially or wholly by a rack 0, provided with uprights c, spacing it from the wall and affording room for the free circulation of the airaround it. The bottom of the ice-chamber is also provided with a rack D, which is supported at its edges upon narrow drip-pans d d. made to interlock at the corners, preferably by shortening the side pans d the widths of the end pans d, and the zinc, galvanized iron, or other suitable material which forms the linings of the pans or the pans themselves are turned upward against the inner walls of the refrigerator to form a flashing, as shown at (1 The pans cl d are supported upona suitable frame-work E, which rests at its ends upon suitable cross bars or cleats e. A door F is provided at one end-of the ice-chamber, through which the ice is passed into the chamber.

Immediately below the floor of' the icechamber there is formed a roof for the cooling-chamber, as follows: A pair of stringers G, provided on their upper faces with ratchetlike notches g, are secured at their opposite ends to the end walls of the refrigerator and extend along in proximity to the side walls of the same. The long sides of the notches 9 form seats for a series of transverse drippans H, which are arranged therein after the manner of window-blind slats. The lower edges and one end of each pan H is provided with an upwardly-extending flange h, and when thesheecmetal lining of the pan is in position thereon a trough is formed having one end closed. The bases of the pans H are preferably of wood and are provided with cross-cleats h, to prevent warping and splitting, the said cleats h also being projected at their lower ends, forming retaining-lugs 71 which catch under pins h3 in the sides of the The drip-pans d d are stringers and lock the pans in their positions on the stringers. The sheet-metal linings of the pans II are not exposed at any point on the under side of the pans.

hen the pans II are resting normally on their seats, the lower edge of one pan abuts against the bottom of the upper edge of the next succecdingpan, thereby forming a closed roof or ceiling for the cooling-chamber. There are, however, arranged underneath the ends of each pan arms I, pivoted to the inner faces of the stringers and adapted to swing up against the bottom of the pans and tilt them into more or less upright positions, forming a great-er or less opening through the roof for the circulation of air from the cooling-chambcr below to the ice-chamber above, and vice versa. The pivoted armsImay be joined in series by a connection 1', so that the pansmay be operated simultaneously.

The narrow pans (Z d, hereinbefore referred to, are arranged to shed the water into the pans II, and the latter are slightly higher at their closed ends, so that they shed the water toward their open ends, where it is received into a narrow drip-trough K, arranged alon the side of the refrigerator and provided with a spent it, which leads the water through the bottom or side of the refrigerator to a suitable waste-conduit.

A valve L is arranged at one end of the series of pans II, to open and close communication betwcen the cooling and ice chambers, and immediately beneath the opposite end of the series an inclined guide 7r is provided to direct the currents of air from the wall of the cooling-chamber to the pans II. The condensation of vapors and the moisture which rises in the air from the cooling-chamber are thus caused to take place above the coolingchamber, and the waters of condensation, as they flow from the base of the icechamber, purify the air. A dry cold pure air is thus secured in the cooling-chamber.

The front of the refrigerator is provided with a main door M, to afford access to the interior of. the cooling-chamber, and an inner base-door, which is half the height of the main door, (more or less,) and Which serves to prevent the escape of the cold air at the base. There is also provided a sub-compartment N in the corner of the cooling-chamher, to receive such articles as may be wanted for frequent use or to which access is desirable. The front of the compartment N pref crably projects outwardly from the front of the refrigerator, as shown at n, and is provided with a trap-door or hinged cover 0.

The rear of the compartment N communicates with the cooling-chamber through a hinged door 0, and the latter is connected with the door 0 by a rod 0, so that when the door 0 is raised the door 0 will be closed and the compartment N shut off completely from the cooling-chamber, but when the door 0 is closed the door 0 will be opened and its interior exposed to the cold air of the coolingchamber. Any considerable rise of temperature in the cooling-chamberis thus prevented during the frequent opening of the compartment N. The front of the refrigerator is also provided over the compartment N with a large window P, arranged to slide up and down, and balanced by weights, as is usual in ordinary windows. The Window P is formed by several layers of insulated material to form a non-conductor, and is provided with one or more lights 1), of double glass, to furnish light to the person who may be inside.

The window P furnishes an opening through which large articles may be stored or removed without opening the main door.

As thus constructed, the refrigerator may be knocked down and packed in a small compass for transportation, and maybe set up for use with the greatest facility. It may be constructed as a large storage-refrigerator for wholesale and retail dealers in meats and produce, as a family refrigerator, or in the form of a refrigerator-car.

It is evident that slight changes in the form and arrangement of the several parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention, and hence I do not wish to limit myself to the construction herein set forth, strictly; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a refrigerator, the combination, with a suitable support provided with inclined seats and laterally-extending projections, of a series of drip-pans seated upon the support and provided with lugs adapted to catch under said lateral projections on the support and lock the pans in position, pivoted arms for tilting said pans, and a rod connected to said arms for operating them, substantially as set forth.

2. In a refrigerator, the combination, with a suitable support provided with inclined seats and with laterallyextending projections, of a series of drip-pans seated upon the support and provided with lugs or projections adapted to catch under the said lateral projections on the support and lock the pans in position, substantially as set forth.

3. In a refrigerator, the combination, with a series of overlapping and contacting drippans forming a closed roof or ceiling for the cooling-chamber, of a valve at one end of the series to open or close communication between the ice and cooling chambers, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARTIN S. MILLARI).

IVitnesses:

linssm E. YOUNG, S. K. FARR. 

